Charges of Geresy

A really good book that provides a reasonably understandable introduction to quantum mechanics and its history.

There is a focus on providing a detailed account of the development of the theory, including a “de-idealisation” of the major figures who won Nobel prizes – for example, it is quickly stated that although Planck jumped to the idea of quantisation he did not do this for any reason other than mathematical convenience so the discovery was more an accident than anything else. Even Schrodinger thought that his idea that electrons should take on distinct energy levels simply because these were the configurations that fit an integer number of wavelengths into the circumference of the orbit was a step towards validating classical physics once again – an idea we know now to be incorrect due to the inaccuracy of the Bohr model (solar system model) of the atom. In fact, many physicists were dead set on validating classical physics and restoring the old ways by finding some “trick” that explained the inexplicable.

The book does a good job of demonstrating the confused way in which quantum mechanics and quantum theory (two separate things!) developed and had contributions made by the great physicists of the 20th century.

More needs to be read to fully grasp the intricacies or the theory since although Gribbin tries his best, I would still say that the book is not 100% comprehensible to the layman. Maybe this is biased due to my lack of background, but I felt that the end of the book was rather rushed in the way it introduced a maelstrom of new concepts such as super symmetry and the inflationary universe. It maybe reflects the state of physics at the time and the lack of understanding of the scientists themselves of these theories.

Nevertheless, this book is a brilliant starting point and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone with an interest in the subject.